As four helicopters left an undisclosed Israeli airbase in the dead of night on September 8, the 100 elite commandos onboard braced themselves for a mission that would etch itself into the annals of Israeli military history.

According to the agency, Russian large landing ships Ivan Gren and Aleksandr Otrakovsky, as well as the dry cargo ship Sparta, are scheduled to arrive in the Syrian port on Jan. 5. Two more Russian vessels — the universal cargo vessel Sparta II and the tanker Ivan Skoblev — are expected to arrive on Jan.

Russian ships are preparing to transport military equipment from a base in Syria to Libya after the fall of Bashar Assad, per Ukrainian intelligence.